Southwestern Salad with Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlets

Crispy and spicy breaded pork cutlets with a Southwestern salad makes a delightful meal. Drizzle my irresistible creamy chipotle dressing over the charred corn and avocado salad to enjoy with the fried pork cutlets.

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Jump to:

• Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlets
• Chipotle Salad Dressing Ingredients
• Ingredients For Fried Pork Cutlets and Southwest Salad
• How To Make Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlets And Southwestern Salad
• Pork Cutlets with Southwestern Salad FAQs
• Southwestern Salad with Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlets

A pork cutlets recipe is a weeknight easy go-to dinner. Not to mention, it's also a crowd favorite. I put a twist on these fried pork cutlets by adding a spicy seasoning to the bread crumb coating.

I love to serve these cutlets with my fresh Southwestern salad recipe. The base is an avocado corn salad with greens and a chipotle salad dressing. It's a dinner full of flavor perfect for summer.

Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlets

It's easy to make cutlets from a pork tenderloin. I show you how to slice the pieces, pound them thin, then dredge them in breading and fry them in a skillet.

This simple process produces a light, crispy coating on the outside of the thin piece of pork, creating a perfectly cooked cutlet to go with salad.

I've seasoned these fried pork cutlets with Southwest flavors, making them "milanesa," the Mexican word for breaded and fried meat.

In Austria and Germany, you would call this "schnitzel," in Japan it's "tonkatsu," and in France it's "escalope." Whatever the language, these crispy, golden cutlets that are breaded and sizzled to perfection are worth their weight in gold.

I serve these spicy breaded pork cutlets alongside a mixed green salad with plenty of charred corn, avocado, and chives to round out a lovely Southwestern flavor profile. Add my creamy, tangy, and slightly spicy chipotle yogurt dressing and you've just traveled to the end of the food-heaven rainbow.

Chipotle Salad Dressing Ingredients

I've made a creamy yogurt chipotle dressing for the salad in this meal. It also serves as the sauce for the pork cutlets.

You probably have the ingredients in your pantry already. I keep a can of chipotle peppers in adobo in my pantry to add to soups, sauces, dressings, and meats.

If you ever open a can of chipotle and don't use it all, I like to freeze the remaining peppers and adobo in a ziplock bag, smashed flat. When needed I open the bag and break off a shard of the chilis and sauce and add to my recipe.

Here are the ingredients you'll need for the dressing and sauce:

• Whole-milk yogurt: I like the richness that comes from full-fat yogurt, but you could use lower fat too.

• White wine vinegar: Has a mild and almost fruity flavor.

• Sugar: Adds balance with all of the savory and acidic flavors.

• Lime juice: Fresh squeezed lime juice is always better than the bottled stuff.

• Chipotle peppers in adobo: I always have a can of these on hand.

• Kosher salt: This is more mild than table salt and is easy to measure.

Ingredients For Fried Pork Cutlets and Southwest Salad

• Pork tenderloin: Make sure to find a tenderloin and not a pork loin.

• Plain bread crumbs: Don't buy the pre-seasoned kind.

• Chili powder: For flavor and a little Southwestern spice.

• Egg: This adheres the breading to the pork and helps make it thick and crisp.

• Oil: I like to use extra-virgin olive oil in salad dressings and sauces, and avocado or canola for frying because they have a higher smoke point.

• Corn: Fresh corn off the cob is my favorite. Trader Joes has a great frozen charred corn if you have one near you.

• Mixed baby greens: Use your preferred blend.

• Chives: For flavor and beauty.

• Avocado: Pairs perfectly with Southwestern flavor and adds rich creaminess.

• Lime wedges: For garnish and to add a squeeze of bright flavor.

How To Make Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlets And Southwestern Salad

• For the Southwest salad dressing combine the yogurt, vinegar, lime juice, water, chipotle chili and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
• With the blender running add the olive oil.

• Slice the pork tenderloin and pound each round to ¼-inch thickness. You will place each piece between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy pot.

• Season each cutlet with salt and then place on a baking sheet as set aside.

• Bread the cutlets. Combine the bread crumbs and chili powder in a wide, shallow dish.
• Whisk together egg and lime juice in another shallow bowl.

• Dip each cutlet in the egg mixture, then in bread crumbs, coating well. I like to use one hand for the egg dipping and one hand for the bread crumb dipping so my fingers don't get too breaded themselves!

• Transfer cutlets back to baking sheet.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add half of the cutlets and cook, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes total.
• Transfer cooked cutlets to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.

• Char the corn. Heat a little bit of oil in a cast iron skillet and add two ears of corn, cooking until charred on all sides. You can also give them a quick turn on a hot grill.

• Let cool and cut the corn off the cobs. Or use frozen, thawed, corn, and broil it for two minutes on a baking sheet.

• Gently toss the corn with salad greens, avocado, and chives. Serve salad alongside cutlets, with dressing drizzled all over both, and lime wedges on the side.

Pork Cutlets with Southwestern Salad FAQs

More Flavorful Dinners

Grilled Pork Kabobs with Orange and Chipotle

Tropical Chicken with Grilled Pineapple

Sweet Chili Pistachio Grilled Chicken

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